Dreams of Black Wall Street

The "Five Civilized Tribes" & The Complicated History of Blacks & Native Americans (1x1)

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The racial tensions that led to the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 did not begin in 1921. They began decades before the city of Tulsa and the state of Oklahoma were formed. Episode 1 will look back at the various ethnic groups that inhabited Indian Territory and later the state of Oklahoma in the 19th century, how they contributed to the foundation of the state, including Tulsa, and how the racial as well as socio-economic dynamics of the region at the time were related to the Tulsa Race Massacre. Guests include Dr. Bob Blackburn, who is the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, as well as Eugene Harrod, who currently works as Adjunct Professor at The College of the Muscogee Nation. Historical artifacts include an audio recording of an interview between Tulsa author and historian, Eddie Faye Gates, and a woman named Thelma DeEtta Perryman Gray, who is a descendant of some of Tulsa's founders. Her great grandfather was Lewis Perryman, who is considered one of the founding fathers of what became known as "Tulsey Town."